Maximization of Nutrient Use Efficiency and Crop Production Through Fertigation Technologies: An overview

The importance of fertigation in increasing productivity with efficient and reduced consumption of water and nutrients with practically, no pollution is emphasized. In modern farming systems, fertigation is widely practiced as a cost effective and convenient method for applying soluble fertilizers to crops. Along with efficiency and adequacy, uniformity is an important fertigation performance evaluation criterion. Fertigation uniformity is defined here as a composite parameter consisting of irrigation and fertilizer application uniformity indicators. The use of fertigation, coupled with micro-irrigation, has continued to increase since it was first introduced in horticultural cropping systems. This combination provides a technical solution whereby nutrients and water can be supplied to the crop with high precision in terms of time and space, allowing high nutrient use efficiency. However, the correct estimation of crop nutrient and water needs is fundamental to obtaining precise plant nutrition and high nutrient use efficiency in fertigated cropping systems. Increasing food demand and decreasing water resources have composed a kind of pressure to find new technologies for efficient use of water and fertilizers in agriculture. Such technology can be able to save irrigation water from 30% up to 50%, as compared with surface irrigation, furthermore increasing crop yields and crop quality. Highest benefits of drip irrigation, some soil data such as, infiltration rate, soil texture and soil structure, crop characteristics and water resources properties ,water quality, surface as will as well water, must be considered in system design, management and operation. Fertigation is an agricultural technique and application together with water and fertilizer to soil and/or plants, stimulates yield and fertilizer use efficiency as well; therefore, and under this technique leaching of nutrients is completely prevented. In order to utilize fertigation successfully, the four main factors must be considered: (a) the consumption rate of water and nutrients throughout the growth season that result in optimal yields, (b) response in uptake of different crops to nutrient concentration in the soil, (c) monitoring for total soil water potential, nutrients concentration in soil and percentage of elements in plants as a function of time, (d) root mass and distribution due to irrigation regimes as well as soil types.